He won't acknowledge publicly that Nadal drives him crazy with those high-bouncing lefty forehands that arrive shoulder-high on Federer's backhand side, and that perpetual-motion, cover-every-spot, never-cede-a-thing scrambling that forces an opponent to produce several superb shots just to earn a single point.
Perhaps that's true, but consider this: Federer is in the Grand Slam finals he has played against any other opponent. The only time Federer won the French Open, in , he avoided Nadal, who was eliminated in the fourth round that year by Robin Soderling. Nadal, for his part, doesn't like to boast about his supremacy over Federer, whom he always refers to as the top player ever. On Sunday, Federer raced to a at the outset, but blew a set point by missing a drop shot that landed barely wide.
Nadal then won seven games in a row. Later, when Nadal went up a break in the third and led , the match appeared over, until Federer charged back to force a fourth set. But Nadal once more assumed control, winning the last five games, then dropping to his knees and leaning forward with his hands covering his eyes. Midway through the tournament, Nadal talked down his chances, admonishing himself for not hitting the ball with enough "conviction" and questioning whether he was playing well enough to take home the title.
After all, he fell behind unseeded John Isner of the United States in sets in the first round, pushed to five sets for the only time in his seven trips to the French Open. Winning or losing won't change your life. Not that Sunday's match needed any assistance in the drama department, but a little extra came in the form of a rain delay -- the very first of the entire day tournament -- while Nadal was serving to take a two-set lead.
He had a set point at , , but wasted it with a forehand that clipped the net and flew long. That made it deuce, and that's when drops began falling. As spectators pulled on hats and popped open umbrellas, Nadal and Federer waited a few seconds before walking off the court.
Federer slipped into a private trainer's room and hopped up on a table. Nadal switched shirts and fidgeted with his racket strings in a hallway, then had a brief chat with his mentor. But it's very difficult for him, too. After a minute break, the match resumed, and Nadal immediately earned a second set point. But Federer saved that one, too, opening an eight-point run for him.
And then it was Nadal's turn to take eight points in a row, including a lead in the tiebreaker, which he eventually closed with a forehand winner. Federer wasn't finished, breaking Nadal at love to get within in the third set. When Federer struck a forehand winner down the line to break again and go ahead , he earned a standing ovation and chants of "Ro-ger! The next shift in the drama arrived in the fourth game of the fourth set, as Federer's concentration let him down on his own serve and Nadal hurt him for two wayward ground strokes to go up.
A close call against Federer left him frustrated but the ball was out and, after a few more flourishes, so was he. He showed admirable restraint as Nadal shamelessly indulged in time-wasting on the Swiss's serve at but there was little he could do about his opponent's brilliance.
An outrageous forehand and a backhand volley drove him to the break, and Federer netted to drop serve. When Federer hit long on the last shot, it was as if someone had let all the oxygen out of Paris, a deflating end to an enthralling contest. We know what can happen in tennis. In the fifth set I would have felt very, very strong.
But Rafa played well and he deserved to win today. Federer always adds "today" because he yearns for tomorrow. He is still dangerous. This article is more than 10 years old.
A weather update. British Eurosport are currently showing cycling and BBC Two seem more interested in the MotoGP, but according to Twitter at least the weather is holding at the moment, and there's even a bit of sun. So we're on for a 2pm start. Here comes Roger. He does a quick interview in French, but the Eurosport translator comes to my rescue. Apparently Federer hopes things are going to be different to his previous French Open finals against Nadal and he's out to do his very best.
And here's Rafa. He says it's a big honour to play Federer and he's looking forward to a really good match. And that's about that. Tok, tok, tok, tok, tok, they're warming up. Nadal is once again wearing his blue and white ensemble, Federer his red and white Swiss number. Not surprisingly, the Parisians sound quite up for this one. A few former champions are presented to the crowd, including Gustavo Kuerten and Jim Courier.
Meanwhile Federer will serve first. An ace from Federer makes it , Nadal demands the umpire gets down from his chair to inspect the line but the call stands. Federer then finds the line with a volley to rattle through his opening service game to Two points later and it's Two break points. Nadal saves the first with a great body serve and follow-up, and then Federer misses the second as he goes for broke on a forehand down the line. Advantage Federer. Nadal looks for all the world like he's going to bury a short ball, but slams it into the net.
Jeu and break Federer. And this from a slightly excited Gary Naylor: "Seeing the same individuals or teams in finals year-in year-out can get dull as familiarity breeds contempt. Doesn't apply to these two though. What a start from the Swiss. And this from Matt Byron: "Is Nadal basically going to win this because of his fitness? He doesn't seem as much of a tennis player as simply a human Duracell bunny, whose speed and power save him more often than his tennis abilities.
For that reason, I think Federer is a much worthier champion. Even though he increasingly just looks like a faded star. Federer goes for another winner on the next point but miscues into the tramlines. Nadal gets his first game on the board, but he really hasn't settled into this final yet. He looks strangely nervous. But Federer dismisses the danger by rattling off the next two points.
He couldn't have asked for a better start. A few umbrellas go up on Philippe Chatrier, by the way. But thankfully they're because of the sun rather than any imminent threat of rain.
Nadal gives the line a fierce glare, before trudging over to serve again. He comes through the game to 30, finishing it off with a cross-court winner. It's so annoying, if this was Wimbledon I'd suggest sending someone round to punch him. Nadal then has a chat with the umpire, it's not too clear why, perhaps he's calling for the trainer. Federer takes the game and yes, the trainer is on. It's a problem with Nadal's foot, which is heavily bandaged.
The trainer snips off a bit of the bandage and puts a bit of talc on will that really help? And then George emails to confirm that it's Mr Castle. Advantage Federer - set point - but he attempts a drop shot, which just sneaks wide. It's then Nadal's turn to bring up advantage, and he takes the game with a backhand cross-court winner, one of his best shots of the match so far.
Federer will serve for the set. You don't win nine grand slams simply by being fitter than your opponents. Nadal is a champion and world No1 because he is so mentally strong and technically and tactically great. There's a reason even greats like Federer can't cope with Nadal's top spin — just look at how his normally excellent backhand unravels against Nadal. That said it seems to be holding up for now.
And Federer nets a backhand. And that he does, with a fantastic running forehand down the line which Federer can only volley into the net.
My my. Federer goes wide with a backhand and for the first time in this match, we're on level terms. Which was kind of my point. The first thing that that comes to my mind is how steady Rafa was in his focus compared to the many ups and downs of Roger. The high times Roger went through were all in the first set, until , and also in the third set. The length of Federer's weaker moments helped Nadal win: seven consecutive games lost from to , at the start of the match, a bad period which cost Federer a first set he had in his hands.
The former world No. For Nadal, it's all about mental regularity. You could compare the Nadal and Federer match with two different planes. One flying at the same altitude with the same rhythm, and the other facing some turbulence but managing to avoid it for a brief period of time. Nadal was dominated when Federer was on a strong period, but he took the lead each time the Swiss suffered a let-down. It's also to be noted that when Rafa was up on the scoreboard he looked very confident, as a player who was remembering all the good memories of his previous battles with Federer.
Each time Roger had an opportunity to really take the lead, he broke down, almost like the respect he has for a rival who beat him so often was taking over.
He seemed to be panicking, going from bad choice to bad choice, like those crossed charges to the net from too far back. He committed error after error, getting rid of the ball as if he lacked any solutions. At the end of the day, Nadal handled the emotional pressure of the final better than Federer. He was steadier and in better control of his emotions.
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